Market Trends of rice seed Industry
Asia-Pacific was the major region in the world concerning rice acreage, with Africa having higher growth potential with support from the government
- Rice is the major staple food for almost two-thirds of the world's population. In 2022, globally, the acreage under rice cultivation was 165.3 million hectares, with Asia-Pacific being the region with the highest cultivated acreage (143.2 million hectares), which accounted for 87.6% of the global acreage in 2022. In Asia-Pacific, India and China were the top countries with the highest cultivated areas, with 46.8 million hectares and 30.4 million hectares, respectively, in 2022. The higher acreage was because of the age-old consumption of rice as a staple food in these countries and the initiatives of respective governments to meet the demand for their growing populations. However, Australia has observed a substantial decline in 2019 by 87.5% compared to 2018 due to lower water availability and higher water prices.
- Africa is the second-largest region for rice production, and it accounted for 9.8% of the global rice acreage in 2022. Nigeria was the major country, which accounted for 27.3% of the area under rice cultivation in the region in 2022, followed by Tanzania with 6.04% of the acreage. The acreage is estimated to increase with the government initiatives. For instance, the 10-year National Rice Development Strategy Phase II (NRDS-II) program is estimated to double the area under rice cultivation in the country. However, in 2022, South America held 2.6% of the global rice acreage, whereas North America and Europe were the other major regions, which accounted for 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively.
- Therefore, with the increase in the demand for rice as a staple food, government initiatives in developing countries to meet the domestic demand are estimated to drive the global rice acreage during the forecast period.
The demand for rice seeds with improved traits, such as disease resistance, drought tolerance, and wider adaptability to different regions to reduce yield loss, is driving the demand for improved varieties
- Rice is a staple food in Asia-Pacific because it is consumed as a meal once daily. China and India are major rice producers globally, and drought tolerance is one of the major traits produced by seed companies as there have been changes in the climatic conditions, which has led to high demand for this seed variety by the growers. For instance, in 2022, China suffered drier conditions than normal rainfall conditions, which is expected to help increase the demand for drought-tolerant seed varieties as well as wider adaptability traits. Moreover, Nuziveedu Seeds launched 4 new products, NP-7373, NA 9153 Pushkal, NSL Annapurna, and NP-9359 Sandhya in 2023, and Corteva Agriscience launched a brand Brevant for India in 2020, and it contains traits such as wider adaptability and drought tolerance.
- Furthermore, there is a high demand for seeds resistant to diseases such as seedling blight, grain rot, and other bacterial diseases. For instance, brands such as Bayer AG's Arize Tej Gold, Advanta Seeds' PAC 8744, and Vina Seed's Thein Uu8 provide resistance to different diseases such as blast, seeding blight, and sheath blight. Furthermore, the crop is affected by biotic stresses and different pests such as Tryporyza incertulas and Gundhi bugs. Additionally, in North America, white spot diseases, gray leaf spots, common rust, goss wilt, and Anthracnose stalk rot diseases are affecting the growth of rice crops, and it has increased the demand for disease-resistant traits in the region, especially the United States.
- An increase in new varieties developed to meet the demand for rice seeds and conventional hybrids replaced by advanced traits, such as disease resistance and drought tolerance, are expected to help the growth of the market during the forecast period.
OTHER KEY INDUSTRY TRENDS COVERED IN THE REPORT
- Traditional breeding is the most commonly used technique in rice as it is a self-pollinated crop